title: Gut bacteria facilitate adaptation to crop rotation in the western corn rootworm.
abstract: Insects are constantly adapting to human-driven landscape changes; however, the roles of their gut microbiota in these processes remain largely unknown. The western corn rootworm (WCR, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a major corn pest that has been controlled via annual rotation between corn (Zea mays) and nonhost soybean (Glycine max) in the United States. This practice selected for a "rotation-resistant" variant (RR-WCR) with reduced ovipositional fidelity to cornfields. When in soybean fields, RR-WCRs also exhibit an elevated tolerance of antiherbivory defenses (i.e., cysteine protease inhibitors) expressed in soybean foliage. Here we show that gut bacterial microbiota is an important factor facilitating this corn specialist's (WCR's) physiological adaptation to brief soybean herbivory. Comparisons of gut microbiota between RR- and wild-type WCR (WT-WCR) revealed concomitant shifts in bacterial community structure with host adaptation to soybean diets. Antibiotic suppression of gut bacteria significantly reduced RR-WCR tolerance of soybean herbivory to the level of WT-WCR, whereas WT-WCR were unaffected. Our findings demonstrate that gut bacteria help to facilitate rapid adaptation of insects in managed ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Chia-Ching
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Matías J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Curzi
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zavala
authors.forename: Manfredo J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Seufferheld
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D003517:Cyclopentanes; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D060434:Herbivory / Q000502:physiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D007305:Insecticide Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D054892:Metagenome / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D054883:Oxylipins; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013025:Glycine max / Q000737:chemistry*; D014481:United States; D003313:Zea mays / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D003517:Cyclopentanes; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D054883:Oxylipins; C072239:methyl jasmonate
keywords: anthropogenic disturbance; contemporary evolution; dietary stress; digestive enzymes; host–microbe interaction